Editorial: Don't play politics with Hurrican Irene disaster aid

VIDEO: Pumping out a basement in LambertvilleEric Decibus of Lambertville installed a custom pumping system in the basement of his Lambertville home. But he lost electricity Saturday night, August 27, 2011 and didn't have time to hook up a gas powered generator when a flash flood came though his neighborhood by the Swan Creek. He got the system working in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene on Sunday.

Gov. Chris Christie has loudly blown the whistle on the political football game shaping up in Washington, D.C., over disaster relief funding.

Before any aid is sent to the states suffering from the effects of Hurricane Irene, some congressional leaders want to balance that federal appropriation with spending cuts.

On Wednesday, flanked by federal emergency officials and lawmakers of every stripe, the governor blasted those who would stand in the way of immediate relief. Among his targets are powerful Republicans such as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
Gov. Christie noted there was no such hesitation when tornados struck Joplin, Mo.

“We don’t have time to wait for folks in Congress to figure out how they want to offset this stuff with the budget cuts,” Gov. Christie said at a news conference in Lincoln Park. “Our people are suffering now.”

That’s the bottom line — and one that should not, cannot, be crossed in the name of political ideology. Yet that appears to be exactly what is happening as a few U.S. lawmakers deem budget offsets a “responsible” condition before getting federal funds to the people whose homes and livelihoods have been drowned in the hurricane’s wake.

As U.S. Rep Rush Holt said earlier in the week, “How un-American is that?”
We are the nation that stretches out a helping hand to people in distress around the world. There is no country with a more generous spirit or a more demonstrated willingness to pick up the pieces and move on after disaster strikes. We also look to our government in time of need.

Witnessing lawmakers mouth rhetoric instead of facing reality, waiting as they hold help hostage to the political objectives of a few firebrands, is nearly as distressing as the ravaging hurricane.

This is an emergency, not time for a long-winded, self-aggrandizing debate on deficit spending.

While President Barack Obama has declared New Jersey eligible for disaster relief, FEMA has less than $800 million to begin handing out. Gov. Christie estimates it will take billions to get New Jersey back on its feet — and there are other states waiting in line.
Congress must act to get that aid where it is needed now. There will be plenty of time later to work out the math. Every day that passes is another day’s worth of misery for the hurricane victims in New Jersey and elsewhere along the East Coast.

As for talk of the budgeting issues — as the governor might say, knock it off.